Hollywood is not be a friendly place to women as they age, though in an interview with Huff/Post50, Virginia Madsen, at 50 years old, says, "This is probably the first year that I've been very discouraged." She talks about for roles where they've called all women "from age 35 to 60 to 65." Adding: "There was a movie recently where I was up against Queen Latifah. She got the part and I was like, OK, I was happy for the Queen, but I was also pissed off. Because there was this long list of all of us who were being compared for one role. It was insane."

That said, Madsen is feeling great:

My mother told me something many years ago when I was asking her about aging. She said, "remember this: when you're in your 40's, you're free. When you're in your 50's, you fly." And for me, that's true. I think we all get better with age. We get smarter. Personally, I've never felt more beautiful. I've never felt more strong physically. I'm definitely smarter. I'm definitely better in bed.

And when it comes to aging, Madsen — who's into Bikram Yoga — has some advice:

When you're 35, you need to figure out what kind of 50 year old you want to be. Now that I'm 50, I'm thinking about what kind of 70 year old I want to be. I don't want to be walking around with a cane. I don't want to be negotiating too much weight. I want to be strong, lean and mean. Right now, I am. And I think it's important to realize that if you don't grab on to life, you're just going to be left behind. And there's no excuse for doing that. There's none. Some people have to deal with really deep tragedies, so how can I complain about being 50? How can I complain when I see people overcoming such tremendous adversity?

In the upcoming film The Magic of Belle Isle, Madsen plays a single mother who befriends an author in a wheelchair, and she may just be the first actress to kiss Morgan Freeman on screen. "I'm definitely the first to have had a romantic love story with him." Interesting how Freeman has reached legendary status in Hollywood without being considered kissable.